
Class 

Book. 






Copyright N°- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




IE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO 
THE ENEMY 



The Gospel 

ACCORDING TO 

THE ENEMY 



T. NEWTON OWEN 

Minister of the Congregational Church 
Bristol, Rhode Island 



* 'Some of the sublimest things 
ever said about the Christ 
were said by His foes." 



New York 

E. B. Treat and Company 
241-243 West 23d Street 

The Treasury Presi 
I907 



USftARY«fOONQRES3 


Two Cooiej Received 
HK 9 1907 


8*^*7 

< OOPY B. 






Copyright 
By E. B. TREAT AND COMPANY 

1907 



do 

N 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I p a g e 

The Channels of God's Grace gri4 

CHAPTER II 

The Just Host 17-23 

CHAPTER III 

The Mantle of Confusion 27-32 

CHAPTER IV 

How a Crown was Lost 35~40 

CHAPTER V 

The Conflict of Voices 43~5o 

CHAPTER VI 

Greeting the Unseen with a Cheer S3"S7 

CHAPTER VII 

Enter God ! . . . . 61-64 



I 

[ CHANNELS OF GOD'S GRACE 




'Tor the dear Christ dwells not afar, 
The King of some remoter star, 
Listening at times with flattered ear 
To homage drawn from human fear; 
But here among the weak and blind, 
The torn and suffering of mankind, 
In works we do, in words we say, 
Life of our life, He lives to-day." 






THE CHANNELS OF GODS GRACE 

"Behold, this child is set for a sign which 
shall be spoken against." These are the words 
of Simeon to Mary the mother of Jesus. The 
prophecy came true. The child, grown to 
manhood, came to Galilee, "preaching the gos- 
pel of God." Entering Nazareth, where he 
had been brought up, and going into the syna- 
gogue, Jesus stood up to read the Scripture. 
The people of Nazareth wondered at the gra- 
cious words that proceeded from the speaker's 
mouth. But the wonder had not ceased before 
they began to find fault with the young preach- 
er. Thus it came to pass that at the preaching 
of his first sermon Jesus was "spoken against." 
Scorn and contempt got the mastery of these 
neighbors. It was with a covert sneer that 

9 



10 



THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 



they asked : "From whence has this man these 
things ? Are not his brothers and sisters with 
us?" They were offended at Jesus because he 
assumed the office of prophet. 

After living such an exemplary life, after 
preaching such a winsome sermon, after heal- 
ing so many sick, the Christ's neighbors might 
have honored him ; so the world thinks to-day 
as it looks in amazement upon the people of 
Nazareth thrusting Jesus out of the city; so 
the Christ himself thought as he passed 
through the midst of them unharmed and un- 
afraid, taking no notice of their menacing ac- 
tions, taking to heart, however, the unkindness 
of it all. Pondering over the ingratitude of 
his townsmen, Jesus marveled. Truly, "he 
came unto his own and his own received him 
not." 

"This man a Saviour?" "This carpenter 
the Messiah?" "Impossible!" cry the people 
of Nazareth. 

A carpenter ? Well known to you all ? Well, 
what of it? Could not God's grace flow 
through well-known channels ? Must we speak 
against God's plan because that plan honors 



TO THE ENEMY. 11 

the home and exalts the shop? When God 
took His Son out of a carpenter's shop and 
sent him forth as an Ambassador, God did not 
degrade the office of Ambassador. He exalted 
labor. Labor is not degrading. Christ gloried 
in the fact of working. "My Father worketh 
hitherto, and I work." If God works, then the 
God-like man should work. 

"Get leave to work 
In this world ; 'tis the best gift you get at all, 
For God in cursing gives us better gifts 
Than men in benediction. God says : 'Sweat' 
For foreheads, men say 'Crowns,' and so we 

are crowned — 
Aye, gashed by some tormenting circle of steel, 
Which snaps with a secret spring. Get work ! 
Be sure 'tis better than what you get to work." 

Because the Son of God dwelt in a home 
and labored at a carpenter's bench, behold! 
to-day, among Christian people, the home is 
divine; labor is divine. The enemies of the 
Christ held in contempt the idea of divinity 
coming close to our humanity. We rejoice 
that these narrow-minded men of Nazareth 



12 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

made reference to the home and vocation of 
our Lord, for it was thus that we learned a 
new chapter in the story of God's great love 
for men. We are drawn to God because of 
His willingness to draw near to us. We come 
close to the God who emptied Himself of all 
pride of station and pride of family, and took 
upon Himself the form of a common man. 
God was reconciled to the necessity of becom- 
ing a man. God was reconciled to dwell in a 
plain Galilean home. God was reconciled to 
the necessity of labor. God reconciled the 
home life and the life of labor unto Himself. 
"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
Himself." "This sentence of the Apostle 
Paul," says Professor Denny, "does not mean 
that God was trying to convert men or to 
prevail with them to lay aside their enmity. It 
means rather that God was disposing of every- 
thing that on His part made peace impossible." 
Since we know that God is reconciled to us, 
let us become reconciled to Him. 

The enemies of Christ in His own town have 
given us a gospel. They have told us that 
Christ came near us and became one of us. 



TO THE ENEMY. 13 

As Naomi said of Boaz, "The man is near of 
kin unto us, one that hath a right to redeem." 

"Yes, yes, a carpenter, same trade as mine ; 

It warms my heart as I read that line. 

I can stand the hard work, I can stand the 

poor pay, 
For I'll see that Carpenter at no distant day." 

"A member of a household!" "A car- 
penter !" "I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me 
that word." I thank thee for saying my Sav- 
iour dwelt in a home and worked in a shop. 
The One whom the heaven of heavens could 
not contain was willing to live in an earthly 
home. The One at whose word the worlds 
were made was found in fashion as a man 
making ploughs and yokes. The lofty One, 
inhabiting eternity, ready to abide with us sin- 
ful men. The One who built the house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens, will- 
ing to build with His blessed hands a Galilean 
home. Such condescension, such humility 
leads us to repentance. We are reconciled to 
the God who was reconciled to abide and 
labor in Nazareth for thirty years. God grant 



U ACCORDING TO THE ENEMY. 

that we may have pronounced in our hearing 
the beatitude of the unfaltering faith : "Blessed 
is the man who is not offended in me." Though 
Christ come as a Toiler, may we accept him 
and cry : "My Lord and my God !" 




II 

I JUST HOST 



as 






"O God, I thank Thee for a homely taste 

And appetite of soul, that wheresoe'er 

I find Thy Gospel — preached Word or Prayer 

Before me set, by whomsoever placed, 

I love the food and let no morsel waste; 

Who serves me, who feeds me, I less care; 

All who speak truth to me commissioned are; 

All who love God are in my Church embraced. 

Not that I have no sense of preference — 

None deeper ! — but I rather love to draw, 

Even here, on earth, on toward the future law, 

And heaven's fine etiquette, where, Who? and 

Where? 

May not be asked; and at the Wedding Feast 

North shall sit down with South, and West with 

East," 

Thomas Burbridge. 



16 



II 



THE JUST HOST 

Often was Jesus bidden to supper ; once only 
did he give a supper. Many times was he a 
guest; once only a host. In certain houses 
where he sat at meat "they watched him," 
hoping to entangle him in some fault or crimi- 
nal statement. Jesus was never ill at ease in 
the company of critics. Instead of being em- 
barrassed at the critical attitude assumed by 
his hosts, Christ became the judge and critic, 
while those who intended to find fault re- 
mained to be sentenced and condemned. 

While seated at a ruler's table, Christ gave 
utterance to the Beatitude of the Just Host. 
"When thou makest a dinner or supper," said 
Jesus to his host, "call not thy rich neighbors, 

but bid the poor, the halt, the blind, and thou 
17 



18 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

shalt be blessed in the resurrection of the 
just." 

Blessed is the man who follows Christ's 
admonition and invites to his table these three 
classes : the poor, those who have failed in 
life's struggle; the lame, those left behind in 
the scramble for success ; the blind, those who 
have been unable to catch a glimpse of the 
glory of victory. 

"A great supper was made," continued 
Christ, illustrating his Beatitude; "invitations 
were sent forth, but those invited declined to 
come, making various excuses. Thereupon 
the host gathered round his table the poor, the 
maimed and the blind" — thus laying claim to 
the blessing pronounced upon the just host. 
Blessed is the host for being so broad-minded 
as to invite the outcasts of society to his feast. 
Blessed also are those who accept the invita- 
tion, setting the honor of eating bread with 
their Lord above business ; aye, above home 
and friends. 

Thus by parable and precept Jesus made 
clear God's attitude toward mankind. 

At each table where Jesus sat as guest, by 



TO THE ENEMY. 19 

sheer force of character he became a host. 
Whether he sat at the table of Simon the 
Pharisee, or at the table of Matthew the Pub- 
lican, Jesus received sinners, thus proving him- 
self to be a Just Host. 

Some time after leaving the ruler's house, 
where he had uttered the parable about the 
Great Supper, Jesus went to be a guest with 
a certain man who had tried to reach a high 
mark of perfection in life. For some reason 
the man had missed the mark and was conse- 
quently known to the people of his town as 
"the man who had missed the mark." We call 
him to-day "a sinner," but the epithets are the 
same. With this discouraged and despised 
man Jesus was as much at his ease as he had 
been with the Pharisees. It was a great dis- 
appointment to the Pharisees' when they saw 
Christ so much at home with the lower strata 
of society. They were amazed that Jesus 
adapted himself to the poor and simple people. 
The Pharisees were not merely amazed, they 
became scornful, and murmured against Jesus' 
actions, saying: "This man receiveth sinners 
and eateth with them." The music of the 



20 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

gospel of grace goes singing through that sen- 
tence. By to-day the condemnation has been 
changed into commendation. What more glo- 
rious gospel can we have? Can we give men 
any more splendid, reassuring message than 
this gospel uttered by the enemies of Christ: 
"Jesus receiveth sinful men and eateth with 
them." 

It was the Pharisees' complaint against Jesus 
as the Just Host that brought forth the three 
parables enshrined in the famous fifteenth 
chapter of the gospel according to St. Luke. 
Turning toward his enemies, Jesus still had 
faith in them, faith enough to believe that they 
in their best moods would do what he had 
done. "What man of you," asked Christ, 
"would not do what I am doing — search for 
that which is lost ?" Jesus had faith to believe 
that these foes of his were capable of searching 
diligently for a lost sheep or a lost coin "until 
they found it." 

The crowning parable given in answer to 
the Pharisees' complaint was the parable of 
"The Father and the Two Sons." The younger 
son wandered far from home and wasted 



TO THE ENEMY. 21 

his substance, but after a time the boy returned 
to his father. The father made a feast for the 
boy. All were invited to the supper. But the 
elder brother was angry and would not go in. 
Being a just host, the father went out and en- 
treated him to come in, giving as a reason for 
making the feast, "It was meet (it was just) 
to make merry, for this thy brother was dead 
and is alive again, and was lost and is found/' 
"It is right," says Jesus, turning to those who 
had complained of his generosity toward evil 
doers, "it is right to receive them when they 
come back, for they were lost and now they 
are found. What man of you would not re- 
joice when you found that which had been 
lost?" Justice, to say nothing of mercy, 
demands generosity toward one's brother. 

When the men of Jericho complained of 
Jesus, saying: "He is gone in to lodge with 
a man that is a sinner," Jesus said to them: 
"Zaccheus the Publican is a son of Abraham. 
O ye children of Abraham, why do ye object 
to my eating with your brother? It is meet 
to rejoice with him, for he was lost and now 
is saved. Salvation has come to him this day." 



22 



THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 



Matthew the Publican made a feast for Jesus 
and many publicans and sinners came and sat 
at meat with Jesus. The Pharisees, when they 
saw him, said with scorn: "He eateth and 
drinketh with publicans and sinners !" Again 
Jesus appeals to their sense of justice. "The 
strong and healthy have no need of a physi- 
cian, but they that are sick." Justice de- 
manded that attention be given to "the sub- 
merged tenth/' 

The Pharisees, like the angry son in the 
parable, probably said : "Why spend so much 
time on these outcasts? Why not devote thy 
time to us ? Lo, these many years do we serve 
God and have never transgressed a command 
of His." They had transgressed no command 
save the command "to be merciful and forgiv- 
ing and to love justice." To those men who 
were so unwilling to play the role of the Just 
Host Christ said : "Go and learn what this 
meaneth : I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Not 
the man who abideth continually within the 
temple, ignoring and despising the sinner with- 
out the gates ; not the man who continually 
offereth the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiv- 



TO THE ENEMY. 23 

ing — thanking God that he is not like yonder 
publican ; but the man who goeth into the by- 
ways and hedges and compelleth the sinners 
to come in to the supper ; that man I say shall 
be deemed worthy of the crown, for he hath 
shown mercy and justice to the least and there- 
fore he shall receive a blessing from the Great- 
est. 

The Just Host will act generously to all 
classes — penitent prodigals and angry sons 
alike. There is room for all who will receive 
the Host's invitation. "To as many as received 
Him to them gave He power to become sons" 
— sons ever abiding in the home, ever doing 
the Father's will. No matter how far the sons 
may have wandered, no matter how difficult 
the work of entreating them may have been, 
when once the sons receive the Father, then it 
shall be said: "The Father receiveth sinful 
sons and eateth with them." Yea, the Christ 
cometh to us when we are overcome with sin, 
and saith : "Take, eat, this do in remem- 
brance of me." "He eateth with sinful men." 
Blessed gospel! 




Ill 

I MANTLE OF CONFUSION 



as 



"How can we guard our unbelief, 
Make it bear fruit to us? The problem's here. 
Just when we are safest, there's a sunset touch, 
A fancy from a flower-bell, some one's death, 
A chorus-ending from Euripides — 
To rap and knock and enter in our souls." 

Browning. 



"Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, 
And let them cover themselves with their own 
confusion as with a mantle." 

Psalm cix. 



26 



Ill 

THE MANTLE OF CONFUSION 

At the feast of tabernacles, when many of 
the multitude believed on Christ, the Pharisees 
sent officers to take Jesus. After listening to 
our Lord's words the officers returned empty 
handed. The Pharisees asked the officers: 
"Why did ye not bring him?" Then was 
given the immortal answer, "Never man spake 
like this man." The words of Christ had dis- 
armed his enemies. 

Christ had said of his own words, "They 
are spirit and life." Truly the words spoken 
in the hearing of these officers must have been 
vigorous and full of the spirit of the man who 
uttered them. The words grappled the very 
hearts of his hearers and hostile intentions 
were laid one side. 

The souls of these officers were athirst for 

27 



23 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

more life, and when they heard Jesus say 
"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink/' the officers laid hold of the life-giving 
draught and their lives were renewed. The 
whole current of their thought and living was 
changed. They became new creatures. They 
no longer hated purity and truth. The words 
of Christ — "the wholesome words/' as St. Paul 
calls them — had a taste about them that was 
lacking in all other words. The words of com- 
mand from the Pharisees no longer held these 
officers captive. 

"Never man spake like this man." Of 
course not. This man was the Word of God. 
The "Word" that had dwelt in the beginning 
with God was now made flesh and dwelt 
among men. St. Peter said to Christ : "Thou 
hast the words of eternal life." It was life 
men wanted. Of life their nerves were scant. 
When one came whose words were thrilling 
with life, no wonder men said: "This is the 
Christ." To-day we prize the officers' reply. 
No words have lifted the world higher than 
the words of Him who spake as never man 
spake. ■,,».>. 



TO THE ENEMY. 39 

The failure to arrest the Messiah brought 
confusion of face to the Rulers. They were 
doomed to still greater confusion when Christ 
with a word set Lazarus free from the prison 
house of death. After the raising of Lazarus 
by those commanding and life-giving words, 
"Lazarus, come forth," the chief priests and 
Pharisees gathered a council and said : "What 
do we? for this man doeth many signs. If 
we let him alone all men will believe on him." 
The adversaries were again being clothed with 
shame as they noted their inability to stem 
the tide of popularity. 

"This man doeth many signs." Such was 
the testimony of Christ's worst foes. They 
gathered a council to put to death a man who 
performed many miracles. To-day preachers 
are saying that Christ never gave a sign of 
supernatural power. The old-time foes of 
Christ preached the gospel better than these 
present-day doubters. The foes of Christ ut- 
tered many noble things about the man whom 
they hated. "This man doeth many signs" was 

said not by a friend but by a foe. 
Professor Harnack's audience in Berlin 



30 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

probably thought him very conservative when 
he said : "That a storm was quieted by a word 
we do not believe, but that the lame walked, 
the blind saw,, and the deaf heard, we do not 
dismiss as an illusion. ,, In other words, such 
are the wonderful cures performed within the 
last decade by surgeons and physicians, it is 
barely possible the Christ may have been so 
much in advance of his time that he too cured 
bodily defects. It is possible that he overcame 
grievous maladies because serious diseases are 
being cured to-day. "But when it comes to 
controlling the wind and the waves, ah, that 
is a more difficult matter/' says the modern 
critic. 

When Jesus appeared among men he was 
not understood. To-day his power has not 
been fathomed. We ask as did men of old: 
"What manner of man is this?" We know 
Christ's life was open to God. God was able 
to pour through His Son the full tide of His 
own wonderful power. Admit that Christ was 
a godly man, a man in whom and through 
whom God could work without let or hin- 
drance, and we must concede that all things 



TO THE ENEMY. 31 

were possible to him because he believed in 
God. O enemy, thou art right. "This man 
doeth many signs." 

When the Pharisees heard the multitude 
bear witness to what had been done by Jesus 
in Bethany, then said the Pharisees among 
themselves : "Behold, how we prevail noth- 
ing; lo, the world is gone after him!'' The 
Pharisees were covered with confusion when 
they realized that they had lost their grip on 
the crowd. 

"The world is gone after him !" The words 
are truer to-day than ever. The world of 
literature, the world of art and music, the 
world of government is following, afar off to 
be sure, but the world is going after the Christ. 
We see not all things subject to him, but we 
see Jesus seated on God's throne "from hence- 
forth expecting." As that old-fashioned writer, 
Bengel, puts it, "He expects, sitting down and 
at rest." The Christ sees of the travail of his 
soul and is satisfied. Yes, Jesus the Christ 
awaits patiently the time when all the world 
shall be drawn to himself. When the final vic- 
tory is achieved those who have laid hold of 



32 ACCORDING TO THE ENEMY. 

the words of life shall rise to everlasting life 
and those who have rejected Christ shall 
awake to shame ; yea, the adversaries shall be 
covered with confusion as with a mantle. 



IV 



f\ OW A CROWN WAS LOST 




33 



His enemies will I clothe with shame; 
but upon himself shall his crown 
flourish Psalm cxxxn. 



"The coward stands aside, 
Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is 

crucified, 
And the multitude make virtue of the faith they 

had denied. 
For humanity sweeps onward; where to-day the 

martyr stands, 
On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in 

his hands; 
Far in front the cross stands ready and the crack- 
ling fagots burn, 
While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe 

return, 
To gather up the scattered ashes into History's 

golden urn." 

James Russell Lowell. 



34 



IV 



HOW A CROWN WAS LOST 

It is recorded of the three disciples on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, "When they were 
fully awake they saw his glory." Something 
like that might be said of Judas, surnamed 
Iscariot. The beauty, the glory of Christ's 
character flashed for one moment upon Judas. 
"When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, 
he repented himself and brought again the 
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and 
elders, saying: I have sinned in that I have 
betrayed the innocent blood/' When he saw ! 
When his eyes were open, the horror of the 
deed flashed upon him. When his conscience 
was awake, the money, the price of blood, 
burned his hands and he cast down the pieces 
of silver in the temple. When he was fully 
awake he saw the glory of Christ and ex- 
35 



36 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

claimed: "He is innocent !" But it was too 
late. Christ was condemned. There was noth- 
ing to do now but cry forth: "Ichabod!" — 
the glory hath departed. Yes, the glorious 
day was gone and "it was night." Black night 
settled down on the man of whom Christ said : 
"It had been better for him had he never been 
born." 

The traitor was left alone. The priests de- 
serted him. "What is that to us? See thou 
to that/' was the sarcastic reply to Judas' 
words of remorse. His sin had separated 
Judas from Christ and then it parted him from 
his accomplices in crime. For a long time 
Judas must have nourished the sin of apos- 
tasy. The villainy abode in his heart long 
before he gave the deceitful kiss. The night 
of the betrayal simply brought the secret sin 
to the surface. Though he was with the dis- 
ciples, for some time Judas had not been one 
of the disciples. Sin had opened a gulf be- 
tween him and the rest of the company. To 
the rabble which he had led out against Christ 
Judas said: "Hold him fast." If Judas had 
only held fast to Jesus ; if he had prayed God 



TO THE ENEMY. 37 

to cleanse him from secret faults, then Judas 
would have been kept back from the presump- 
tuous sin and would have been innocent of the 
great transgression. The oft-repeated admoni- 
tion of Christ to the churches of Asia, "Hold 
fast!" must have been on the Saviour's lips 
while on earth. Many times the disciples were 
exhorted by their Master to continue faithful 
to the end. Judas failed because he did not 
heed Christ's saying, "Hold fast, that no man 
take thy crown." Judas let someone take his 
crown and when he saw the full extent of his 
horrible deed he was clothed with shame. But 
upon the One whom he had betrayed the crown 
flourished. Yea, Judas himself crowned the 
Messiah with the highest praise. It was a fine 
tribute Judas paid to Christ when he said : "I 
have betrayed the innocent blood." The very 
man who brought Christ to the judgment 
throne stands up and says : "The prisoner is 
innocent." Surely Judas knew the thorn- 
crowned sufferer. For three years he had 
lived in the most intimate fellowship with 
Christ. Looking at that wondrous life, Judas 
with his last breath said: "He is innocent." 



38 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

Men there were who witnessed against Christ. 
They witnessed so many things against him 
that Pilate in wonder said: "How many 
things they witness against thee !" But these 
hired witnesses did not know Jesus. Judas 
knew him and said : "Innocent !" No stronger 
eulogy of Christ was ever pronounced, and 
it was pronounced by a foe who has gone 
down in history's pages as the meanest enemy 
Christ ever had. A traitor, plotting under 
cover of the night, selling his Lord for thirty 
pieces of silver, yet when "he came to himself," 
this traitor said: "I have sinned; I have be- 
trayed an innocent man." Christ's familiar 
friend, a man in whom the Christ trusted, 
which did eat of his bread, lifted up his heel 
against his Master. And yet this man, who 
would have tripped his Lord, "when he saw, 
repented himself" and declared : "He is inno- 
cent." Remorse overwhelmed Judas and he 
went out and hanged himself. Judas lifted up 
his heel against his Master and would have 
made his Lord stumble, but it was Judas that 
stumbled, not Christ. The irony of it all! 



TO THE ENEMY. 39 

The stone at which Judas stumbled fell upon 
him and ground him to powder. 

Judas is known as "the son of loss." Of all 
the disciples given to Christ none were lost 
save the son of perdition. Judas had grum- 
bled when a woman poured out her wealth on 
Jesus. "Why this loss ?" he had asked. Loss ? 
There was no loss there. It was Judas who 
was lost. "Woe to that man by whom the 
Son of Man is betrayed/' had been Christ's 
words of doom. The words echoed through 
the conscience of Judas. He goes to his own 
place, crying : "Woe ! woe is me ; I have be- 
trayed the innocent blood!" 

How did such a tragedy ever come about? 
How was it possible for a disciple, a man who 
believed in Christ's innocence, how was it pos- 
sible for such a man to prove false? "He 
sought opportunity to betray Jesus/' There 
lies the mainspring of the man's actions. He 
looked around for doors opening into hell. Of 
course he found them. He sought opportunity 
to do evil. He transgressed; that is, he 
stepped out of his way to do wickedness. 

Before we condemn this man and relegate 



40 ACCORDING TO THE ENEMY. 

him to a class by himself, let us ask ourselves 
the question put by the disciples to Christ when 
he said : "One of you shall betray me." Each 
disciple in turn asked : "Lord, is it I ?" "He 
that thinketh he standeth let him examine 
himself lest he fall." 

Lord, cleanse our hearts from secret faults, 
then we shall be innocent of stepping out of 
the way and seeking opportunity to do evil. 
May we hold fast to Thy outstretched hand 
and receive at last the crown of life. 



V 
[ CONFLICT OF VOICES 




41 






THE GLIMPSE. 

"Just for a day you crossed my life's dull track, 

Put my ignoble dreams to sudden shame. 

Went your bright way, and left me to fall back 

On my own world of poorer deed and aim; 

To fall back on my meaner world and feel 

Like one who, dwelling 'mid some smoke-dimmed 

town, 
In a brief pause of labor's sullen wheels, 
'Scaped from the street's dead dust and factory's 

frown, — 
In stainless daylight saw the pure seas roll, 
Saw mountains pillaring the perfect sky; 
Then journeyed home, to carry in his soul 
The torment of the difference till he die." 

Wiluam Watson. 






THE CONFLICT OF VOICES 

There are some people who congratulate 
themselves because they have never betrayed 
Christ. Unlike Judas they have never sold 
their Lord to his enemies. But the same 
people have refused to set Christ free when it 
was in their power to do so. They did not 
sell Christ, neither did they release him when 
some Judas had entrapped him. Not every 
man is tempted as Judas was tempted, but to 
every man it is given to answer Pilate's ques- 
tion: "What shall I do with Jesus which is 
called Christ ?" No man can remain neutral 
at the cross. Pilate tried to wash his hands 
of responsibility by saying to the multitude: 
"See ye to it." But the stain of blood ever re- 
mained on Pilate's conscience. When Pilate 

43 



44 



THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 



removed to Rome, stripped of all authority, he 
is said to have exclaimed: "It is not loss or 
poverty or rejection that troubles me. I have 
had a great opportunity and missed it. It is 
the Face of that Innocent Sufferer that haunts 
me." Pilate had a splendid opportunity of- 
fered him to set Christ free, but he, "willing 
to content the people, released Barabbas and 
delivered Jesus to their will." All this took 
place after a long struggle between Pilate's 
good angel — his sense of justice — and the de- 
mands of a relentless, vindictive people. Let 
us read the story of the conflict. 

The Rulers of the Jews, having decided 
that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, bound their 
victim and brought him to Pilate, for the chief 
priests could not put Jesus to death until the 
Roman governor had given his assent. Stand- 
ing outside the Roman judgment hall, refusing 
to enter lest they should be defiled, the Rulers 
call upon Pilate to come forth and give his 
consent to Christ's death. Angered at the 
slight cast upon the purity of his judgment 
hall; incensed because he is compelled to go 
out to the Jews, Pilate asks for the details of 



TO THE ENEMY. 45 

the case. This demand in turn angers the chief 
priests, who thought Pilate should have been 
willing to take the decision of the highest 
Jewish court and without question confirm it. 
"If the man were not a malefactor we would 
not have delivered him up to thee/' said the 
Rulers. The Roman governor, disliking the 
tone of their answer, tells the Jews to take 
the prisoner and judge him according to their 
laws. Pilate would be rid of these people, a 
people who not only refused to come within 
his judgment hall but also refused to give him, 
the mighty Roman, a reason for their demands 
upon him. 

In going out to the Jewish Rulers, Pilate 
betrayed his weakness, but now the Jews re- 
veal the weak point in their armor; they are 
compelled to acknowledge that it was unlawful 
for them to put a man to death. The Roman 
was haughty, but at heart Pilate was weak and 
fearful of losing his position. The Jews were 
weak, to all appearance, but their craftiness 
and will power made them strong enough to 
conquer the domineering Roman. 

At first the chief priest said nothing about 



46 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

the crime of blasphemy, for this was a religious 
question and would not have arrested Pilate's 
attention. The Rulers, therefore, accuse Jesus 
of treason, saying: "This man is making 
himself a king in place of Caesar." Taking 
Jesus into his judgment hall, Pilate asks his 
prisoner about the Kingdom of which he is 
king. Jesus tells the Roman that he holds sway 
over the Kingdom of Truth. Pilate quickly 
grasps the fact that Christ's words have no 
political bearing. Having found how harmless 
Christ's claims are, Pilate goes out to the 
chief priests and says, "I find no fault in this 
man." No fault! A voice within Pilate's soul 
said, "This man is innocent of treason. He 
is not trying to set up a kingdom in opposition 
to Caesar's kingdom. If he had been attempt- 
ing such a thing the Jews would have quickly 
followed his leadership." The still small voice, 
call it intuition if you wish, told Pilate that 
the Jewish Rulers were envious of Jesus. The 
kingdom Christ would set up was to be so 
spiritual, so pure, so exalted that the Rulers 
in order to enter it must be transformed into 



TO THE ENEMY. 47 

new men, with new purposes, new thoughts. 
They must be born again, must give up their 
sinful lives and this was just what they would 
not do. The cry of the people, "We have no 
king but Caesar !" did not deceive Pilate. The 
still small voice whispered, "It is all for envy." 
Let these Rulers of the Jews find a Messiah 
whose plans are in agreement with their own 
political schemes and they will very quickly 
make war against the Romans. All this Pilate 
had perceived. But once outside the judgment 
hall, the voices of the priests and people were 
loud in their denunciation of the man left 
behind in the vacant hall of judgment. Which 
would prevail, the still small voice or the loud 
voice of the rabble? Pilate's opportunity had 
come. He should have set Jesus free, but he 
was afraid of the crowd. The inner voice was 
not yet stifled, however. The Roman at- 
tempted to still that inner voice by shifting the 
weight of judgment upon Herod. But Herod 
sends Jesus back to Pilate and again the 
Roman governor is called upon to decide what 
he shall do with Jesus called the Christ. 



48 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

Pilate calls together the chief priests and 
says to them, "I find no fault in this man." 
No fault! The words have come down the 
centuries full of deep meaning. The words of 
a friend could be no stronger. It was a friend 
who said, "Christ offered himself without spot 
to God, a lamb without spot or blemish." We 
expect eulogies from friends. Let us recall 
that it was a foe who said, "I find no fault in 
him." 

Pilate will now certainly release Jesus. Yes. 
The governor says, "I will release him." See- 
ing, however, the anger of the priests and 
fearing their hostility, eager to be considered 
their friend, Pilate adds the cruel words, "I 
will however scourge him." But the chief 
priests moved the people to cry that Pilate 
should rather release Barabbas. 

Again the two voices were in conflict. The 
voice of the people crying, "Not this man but 
Barabbas," and the inner voice whispering for 
justice to be done to the prisoner. For a brief 
moment the Roman listens to the inner voice* 
"Pilate willing to release Jesus, spoke again 






TO THE ENEMY. 49 

to them. And he said unto them the third 
time, Why, what evil hath he done? I find 
no cause of death in him." No cause of death ! 
No fault! "But they were instant with loud 
voices requiring that he might be crucified. 
And their voices prevailed" The conflict of 
voices was at an end. The loud voice con- 
quered. 

Why should the voice of the people prevail ? 
What did that voice say? Well among other 
things the voice of the people said, "If thou 
let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend." 
When Pilate heard this, he delivered Jesus to 
their will to be crucified. "Crucified under 
Pontius Pilate." Thus the creed of the 
church has attached to Pilate the ignominy of 
that tragedy on Calvary. 

Pilate did not care to have it said of him 
that he was an enemy of Caesar. The Roman 
governor wanted to be a friend to Jesus — but 
there was Caesar ! Pilate felt that he must be 
a friend to Caesar, how otherwise could he 
keep his position and retain his worldly pros- 
perity ? At one time Pilate had the opportunity 



50 ACCORDING TO THE ENEMY. 

to do a good deed for Christ, but he failed to 
make the most of his opportunity. He missed 
his chance to set Christ free. To-day Pilate 
stands pilloried — 

Caesar's friend; Christ's foe. 



VI 

Greeting the unseen with 

A CHEER 




611 




"Though love repine, and reason chafe, 
There came a voice without reply, — 
'Tis man's perdition to be safe 
When for the truth he ought to die/' 

Soldiers' Memorial Stone, Harvard College. 



VI 

GREETING THE UNSEEN WITH A CHEER 

When Jesus hung upon the cross, "the 
chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and 
elders said, he saved others, himself he can 
not save.'' These same enemies of the Christ 
also said, "He trusted in God, let him deliver 
him now." The robbers that were crucified 
with him cast upon him the same reproach. 

It was strange that these foes should be will- 
ing to acknowledge the saving power of the 
man whom they hated. But such was the 
wonderful might of the Christ that even his 
bitterest enemies were compelled to say, "He 
has saved men." 

From the lips of the men who hated the 
Christ was wrung the confession in regard to 
the Master's wonderful power to save. What 
53 



54 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

was the source of that power? The enemies 
again are witnesses — "He trusted in God." 

The saving ability of Christ did not convert 
foe into friend. One more sign was demanded 
— Christ must save himself. One more sign 
and the foes will become the followers of 
Christ. Let Jesus descend from the cross, let 
God in whom the crucified trusted rescue the 
victim from their hands and the Rulers prom- 
ise to lay aside their hostility and render 
allegiance to the One whom God should deliver 
from death. The challenge was not accepted. 
Love never saves itself. 

We are saved to-day because the Christ who 
saves us did not save himself, but freely offered 
himself for our sins. We put our trust in the 
God in whom Christ trusted, the God who, 
though He would not deliver His Son from 
the hands of a fanatical mob, did however 
deliver him from the gates of death and highly 
exalted him above all principalities. 

"He saved others !" What more blessed 
gospel was ever pronounced for a world of 
sinners! Time and time again Christ made 
manifest his power to save. Even his enemies 



TO THE ENEMY. 55 

admit that Christ was a Saviour. But Jesus 
did not save himself. He endured the cross, 
despised the shame of being accounted too 
weak to save himself and is now set down at 
the right hand of God, for he trusted God. In 
the darkened hour, amid the clouds and black- 
ness that hung over Golgotha, the Christ never 
lost his trust in the Heavenly Father. Seem- 
ingly he was deserted. He could not fathom 
the meaning of God's dealing with him — hence 
his cry, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
me?" A storm of hatred broke loose at the 
foot of the cross. Christ's foes flung their 
jibes into his face, but 

"Well roars the storm to those that hear 
A deeper voice across the storm. '' 

Christ had heard a voice, "This is My beloved 
Son in whom I am well pleased." Christ 
believed that voice and had the faith to cry, 
"Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit." 
Jesus trusted God to the last. Because of his 
wonderful trust in God, Christ is able to save 
mankind. Christ yielded to the will of God. 
He trusted himself to God's care, and tasted 



56 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

death for every man. Christ died for us, the 
Just for the unjust, that being raised from the 
dead he might bring many souls with him into 
glory. 

The Author of our salvation — the One of 
whom his enemies said, "He saved others," 
was able, not only to begin the work of salva- 
tion, he was able to complete the work. Jesus 
was made a perfect Saviour through suffering. 
By suffering death Jesus brought to nought 
him that had the power of death. Christ 
offered himself to God to bear the sins of many 
by the sacrifice of himself. Therefore looking 
unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our 
salvation let us consider him that endured such 
gainsayings of sinners that we wax not weary. 
Let us go forth to him without the camp, not 
reproaching him for refusing to do what we 
would have him do, but rather bearing his 
reproach, being conformed unto his death, 
entering into the fellowship of his suffering, 
thus and thus only we shall know the power 
of his resurrection. 

We, too, shall save others if, forgetful of 
self, we give up our life for others, trusting in 






TO THE ENEMY. 57 

God to restore to us our life again. "Whoso- 
ever shall lose his life shall find it." Yea, he 
shall find it in God's safe keeping. Trust Him 
therefore and "march breast forward. Never 
doubt but clouds will break. Never dream 
tho' right is worsted wrong will triumph." 
Do as Christ did on the cross. 

"Greet the Unseen with a cheer/' 

Put thy trust in God and thou shalt not be 
confounded. If thy trust in God remains 
steadfast to the end then thou shalt not only 
be saved but thou shalt also save much people 
alive. Deny thyself. Refuse to save thyself. 
Take up thy cross and follow the One who 
saved not himself but thee. 

" God the Father give us grace 
To walk in the light of Jesus' face ; 
God the Son give us part 
In the hiding place of Jesus' heart ; 
God the Spirit so hold us up. 
That we may drink of Jesus' cup." 



VII 
TER GOD! 



Es 



59 



THE PRAYER OF A PAGAN. 

"If Jesus Christ is a man, 

And only a man, I say, 
That of all mankind I cleave to Him, 

And to Him will I cleave alway. 

"But if Jesus Christ is God 

And the only God, I swear 
I will follow Him through heaven and hell, 

The earth, the sea and the air." 

R. W. Gilder. 



"Bound upon th* accursed tree 
Sad and dying, Who is He? 
By the last and bitter cry, 
The ghost giv'n up in agony; 
Crucified! We know Thee now; 
Son of God! Tis Thou, Tis Thou!" 

H. H. Milman. 



VII 

ENTER GOD! 

The "dramatic moment" in any great play- 
is the moment when the hero steps on the scene 
and saves a victim from the hands of the 
villain. 

In that greatest of all dramas, "The Life of 
Man," it was a thrilling moment when the 
heavenly messenger appeared on the Judean 
stage and made to the shepherds the announce- 
ment — Enter God! 

The Word that had been from the beginning 
with God and was God was made flesh and 
dwelt among us. God entered on the scene 
and man was saved. 

In the drama of individual life, the supreme 
moment in a man's career is that moment when 
God comes to the individual. Enter God ! and 
61 



62 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING 

behold the man is transformed and made a new 
creature. The stateness, the insipidity all 
vanish when God enters. When the gates of 
man's soul swing open and God enters, the 
scene is filled with new light, new thoughts, 
new aspirations. All is changed. The man 
cries, " It is no longer I that live, God liveth 
in me." 

We have in the New Testament the record 
of many instances where God entered the lives 
of individuals. One of the most striking 
instances of the entrance of God into the 
human soul is found in the account of the Cen- 
turion at the cross. At the very moment when 
Christ's followers thought that their Lord 
had left the world ; the very instant that Christ 
cried, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
me ?" at that moment a Roman soldier was able 
to insert in the diary of his day's work, "Enter 
God!" As the crucified sufferer gave up the 
ghost, the Centurion said, "Truly, this was the 
Son of God !" Though an enemy and a pagan 
he is reconciled to God by the death upon the 
cross. The Christ "lifted up," w r as beginning 
to draw all men to himself. Christ came near 



TO THE ENEMY. 63 

to the world when he was born in Bethlehem. 
The world was brought near to Christ when he 
died on Calvary. 

For this Captain of a hundred men, Christ 
had prayed, "Father forgive." The good- 
ness of the dying sufferer leads the Centurion 
to repent of his former harshness and cruelty. 
This Roman legionary was "not far from the 
kingdom.'' The kingdom is near to all men, 
but not all men are near the kingdom. When 
Christ was given over by Pilate to the charge 
of the Centurion, the kingdom had come near 
to the Centurion. The kingdom had come so 
near to the Centurion that he was able to lay 
rude hands upon the ruler of the kingdom, but 
you could not say the soldier was near the 
kingdom. . But now this captain has come near 
to the kingdom. He is "made nigh by the 
blood of Christ." The Centurion had come so 
near to the kingdom that the Spirit of the 
departing Christ entered and controlled the 
life of this alien. He was reconciled to have 
God's Son as a Guest. If while an enemy the 
soldier was reconciled to God through the 
death of God's Son, much more being recon- 



64 ACCORDING TO THE ENEMY. 

ciled was he saved by Christ's life. In the 
hour of his most apparent weakness, Christ 
converted a foe into a friend. Truly, "this 
was the Son of God." 



JAN 9 1907 



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